The electric light did not come from the continuous improvement of candles. Oren Harari

Another school year is here and the faculty is back preparing their rooms for the first day with students.  This will be an exciting year for USD 239 and for other Kansas Schools.  The Kansas Department of Education challenged school districts earlier this summer with the opportunity to redesign their school district based on the five outcomes of becoming a successful district.

North Ottawa County School District has accepted that challenge. We will move forward and study effective teaching strategies that have the most impact on students and their learning.  

If we want our students to grow and be prepared for a workforce yet undefined, we must have opportunities in our classrooms that give our students the opportunity to problem solve, be creative, work with others and become critical thinkers.  Most often students are told what to learn, when to learn it, and how it should be learned.

With all that we know about how students learn, the nature of the world they will face after graduation, and the educational inequities that have existed for centuries, maintaining a traditional, one-size-fits-all approach to teaching and learning is synonymous to instructional malpractice.  

The traditional model of schooling ultimately prepares students for the industrial model of the past. We do great things at Minneapolis Grade School and Minneapolis JR/SR High, the staff is up to the challenge and they understand that they must be flexible and open to change when the need arises if we want our students to become successful citizens in a global society.

Please check back later to see what changes are happening in our district.